Sesshomaru's Decision
by Exzen
Summary: PG-13 to be safe... Sesshomaru & co. are traveling, when Rin gets kidnapped. Will Sesshomaru accept help from Inuyasha, or save her alone?
1. Prologue

Note: Even though I really wish I did, I don't own Sesshomaru or any other member of the cast of Inuyasha. B

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Rin raced against Jaken in what seemed to be the battle to the death. Sesshomaru had just returned from one of his occasional trips across the lands, and was just returning on that sunny afternoon. Being a Lord, he has business with other youkai as important as himself, he just didnt think it safe to bring Rin along, so he left her behind with Jaken to take care of her.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin gasped as she came to a halt about a foot away from her protector. She hated being left alone with Jaken for long periods, she had nothing against the little toad demon, it was just lonely without Sesshomaru's presence.

"L-Lord Sesshomaru! Rin has been very anxious to see you, my lord. Meddlesome humans.. why can we not just leave her with that worthless brother of yours and his wench, Kagome? Rin has become very fond of her." As if on que, the measley toad demon stepped up behind Rin, long given up on trying to reach their Lord before the perky young girl did. Sesshomaru thought nothing of Rin's greeting at that moment, and instead of replying to her like he normally would, he instead glared at Jaken in irritation and coldly replied to his offer to send Rin off to join Kagome and Inuyasha's group.

"Because Rin deserves better than staying with that useless hanyou and that idiot girl." He paused, then regained his normal expressionless appearance, then continued what he was saying, "Now come, Jaken. We must continue patrolling.... Rin?"

The young orphans face lit up like the morning sunrise and she beamed at Sesshomaru. From behind her, she pulled a bouquet of flowers of reds and blues and yellows and purples, that were once growing in the large field off to the side of the castle that Sesshomaru claimed as his own after his fathers death, some years ago. Rin loved picking flowers and making gifts for Sesshomaru. It was like her way of thanking him for taking such care of her. She handed them up to him, "Rin has picked flowers for you, Sesshomaru-sama!" The demon Lord knelt down in front of Rin and accepted the gift, giving her a pat on the head in exchange, making her giggle in appreciation.

Jaken, being completely ignored, snorted angrily at the scene in front of him. Seeing such an aristocratic lord accept a gift from a _human_ was all but what he expected to see. "So, shall we be off?" The servant said with a slight bit of annoyance in his voice. Rin didnt see the sarcasm in the question, but Sesshomaru noticed it clearly. Amazingly, he let it pass without punishment. As he fastened the small bouquet from Rin onto his belt, Sesshomaru nodded to Jaken and started walking towards the nearest village.


	2. The Beginning

Jaken was laying on the emerald green grass resting, while nearby Rin was playing with a child that lived in the village. Sesshomaru was off questioning nearby villagers if they had seen "A hanyou mutt in red with a monk, a demon slayer, and a girl", with no luck so far. It was a quiet town, used as something of a trading post for demons and humans alike, so they didn't think much of Jaken or Rin's arrival, but they knew, just by looking at him, that Sesshomaru was a Lord. It's not like every demon that strolls into town has such an appearance, rarely any demons took on a human-like form, and the ones who did were amazingly powerful.

As he mumbled to himself about how he could have gotten a better profession than being a servant to such a selfish and cruel demon, Jaken paid little to no attention to Rin or her new friend. When he finally came out of his reverie of being freed from Sesshomaru, what he saw filled him with fear for his own life. Hastily looking left and right, he couldnt see any traces of either of the two children. He jumped up from his relaxed position and started searching the near area for Rin and her friend. With no luck of finding either, the scrubby toad demon raced off to find his master, hoping that the two will appear before he has to explain Rin's absence.

"My Lord!! Oh Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken gasped as he ran into Sesshomarus leg. "It was so hard to find you, my lord.." Sesshomaru looked at him, with his regular hypnotic stare, sending chills down Jakens spine. Somehow, Jaken knew he wasn't going to be alive for much longer, so he decided to just come out and tell Sesshomaru the problem. "Its Rin, my lord! She has been stolen!" Slightly irritated that his interrogation was interrupted, Sesshomaru nodded, letting Jaken finish his story, "She was playing off with that child and then they must have ran away or something, because they are nowhere to be seen! I searched everywhere and I could not find any signs that they were near!" The second he finished that sentence, the demon lord showed full concern, knowing that there was no way on earth that Jaken would kid about something like this. Or rather, not if he still wanted to see the light of day, anyway.

"Are you positive? Was she not with that little village boy?" He said, while the villager he was questioning walked away. It would be a newsworthy sight, if anyone other than Jaken had seen Sesshomarus expression. He didn't have his usual calm, uncaring stare, the smirk he sometimes gave opponents before he landed the finishing blow to end the battle, and the adversaries life, he didn't even have the annoyed grimace that he sometimes got when Inuyasha was winning a fight, no, he had an emotion plastered on his face that would change everyones opinion of him if they had seen it. Sesshomaru was showing true care for someone other than himself.

"Yes, my lord, I am positive. They were just running around through a field, and when I turned around, both of them had just vanished! Like Naraku does, almost!" The servant could barely talk, he was stuttering so badly. As amazing as it seemed, Jaken didn't really care about Sesshoumarus change in character, since Jaken knew that nothing lasts forever, meaning that in a few moments, Sesshomaru would be ready to punish him.

Jaken cowered in fear and covered his head with his staff, expecting to get hit. But instead of taking his frustration out on the shaking Jaken like usual, Sesshomaru was looking straight ahead past Jaken, deep in thought. "You were suppose to take care of Rin, Jaken. What were you doing at the time? Did I NOT instruct you to keep Rin SAFE from danger?" Before Jaken even had time to reply, Sesshomaru blinked and regained his posture, "I will kill whoever kidnapped Rin."

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"OSUWARI!" Yet again, Inuyasha was having it out with Kouga, and Kagome had to play peace-keeper. Peeling himself up from the newly formed hole, Inuyasha shot death glares at both Kagome and her wolf demon friend Kouga. Just like old times, the battle ends with a cry from Kagome, then the real fun begins, afterwards. Inuyasha and Kagome always made up from their little quarrels, of course. Since they both knew that they're key aspects to gathering the shards of the Shikon no Tama. Sometimes, however, it took longer for them to make up...

"Kagome you MORON, why are you always helping Kouga?!" Inuyasha barked at Kagome, using every ounce of self control to keep from attacking Kagome.

"Because its not fair that you two are always fighting! Dont you ever think about anyone else but yourself, Inuyasha?!" She snapped back.

"Keh. Would you rather me NOT rescue you from that dumb wolf and let him take you away?" Kagome waited a moment, trying to think of a reply to Inuyasha's reply. She mumbled "No.." then glared at Inuyasha. The now standing half-demon laughed at Kagome then said, "See? What did I tell you. Kouga is just a stupid wolf, you should just let me finish him off so we can all continue with our lives. Then we can gather the jewel shards, kill Naraku, and he will never bother us again."

Twitching with irritation at Inuyasha's smugness, Kagome yelled at him, "I'm going HOME! And dont even THINK of coming to look for me!"

"Keh, try to get to the well, or Kaede's village at that, wench. We're too far away. Youll DIE before you get even close." Giving Kagome a conceited grin was one of the stupidest mistakes Inuyasha made that day. He thought that he had won this, but he is often blind to the obvious, which in this case was that Kagome wasn't going down without a fight.

Kagomes chanting of that satanic curse seemed to last for hours in Inuyasha's point of view, when it had only been a few minutes, seconds maybe. Once she was 100 positive that Inuyasha was going to be plastered to the ground for at least a good 10 minutes, Kagome grabbed Sango by the wrist and dragged her into the forest. This happened often enough, Kagome gets upset with Inuyasha or Sango gets mad at Miroku, then the two girls talk it out during a bath in a relaxing hot spring, or whatever else they could find nearby. Luckily for them, Kouga and Inuyasha fought near a hotspring.

As soon as they had searched the near area for Miroku or anyone else who would be spying on them, Kagome started to whine and complain to no end. Sango took a deep breath and prepared herself for the long night they were going to have.. when Kagome and Inuyasha aren't talking, everyone has to deal with it. "Why are they always fighting, Sango?! Don't they want to be friends? Whats wrong with them?! Don't they know that fighting only wastes time we could be using to hunt down Naraku?!" By the time she finished saying that, Kagome was almost squeaking with her lack of breath. There was an awkward moment between the girls, when Sango was gathering thoughts for a reply, and Kagome was just thinking.

"They don't want to share you, Kagome. Its their animal instincts, and theres not much they or you can do about it until you let one of them kill the other." Sango was amazed at how she knew that. Of course she had a little knowledge on dog and wolf youkai, but she didnt think she knew THAT much. Leaning back on the rocks, Kagome thought about the choices she had. She could let Inuyasha kill Kouga, but that was out of the question, she couldnt hurt Kougas pack or herself that much. So that left her with two choises, that she could see. She could just avoid Kouga altogether, or just be satisfied with her current solution until Inuyasha and Kouga made a truce.

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A/N: oo Long one, lol. I decided to at least post chapter 1 before I decide to continue or not. 99 I hopes you like it. nn I enjoyed writing it. Just a re-cap, for those of you who dont understand whats going on.

Rin gets kidnapped, Sesshomaru is being out-of character.

Inuyasha and Kouga fight, Kagome stops it.

Next chapter: Sesshomaru and Inuyasha meet up, not intentionally, of course. What kind of rivalry would that be?


	3. Sesshomaru gets Assistance

**A/N: omg, long chapter. Took forever to type, but I liked doin it nn I update often enough, so.. not many cliffhangers. ;;oo. I dont think I need to tell you that I dont own these characters, its rather obvious. REMEMBER THAT ITALICS IS THINKING, unless its a single word or somethin.**

Suddenly, the two girls heard a rustle in the bushes to their left. Supposing it was just Miroku, Sango grabbed the nearest rock and flung it towards the source, expecting to hear a cry or at least a thud to tell that the culprit got hit. But no sound was heard, other than the rock falling.

"Whos there? Show yourself!" Sango calmly said, while kneeling deeper into the water so no peeping-toms could catch sight of anything.

Out of the bushes walked none other than Lord Sesshomaru. Normally Kagome would scream and Sango would make a dash for her Hiraikotsu, but the expression on Sesshomarus face was petrifying. Jaken walked through the brush following Sesshomaru, but he fell into the spring and started drowning. Paying no attention to his servants predicament, Sesshomaru looked from Kagome to Sango, then glanced around the surrounding area.

"You FREAK!" Kagome yelled, curling into a ball beneath the waters surface. Sesshomaru just stared for a moment, blinked, then made his reply, "Dont flatter yourself."

Unlike Kagome, Sango could tell that Sesshomaru had a problem. She kicked Jaken to the shore and looked at Sesshomaru quizzically, "What do you want _here_, Sesshomaru? Inuyasha is elsewhere, and I know you knew that."

Jaken was going to answer Sango for his lord, but Sesshomaru stepped forth, onto the shore of the spring.

"I have no desire to take the Tetsusaiga or to defeat that worthless mutt." He coldly replied.

Sango blinked a few times, dumbfounded. _If he didnt want to fight Inuyasha, or try to take the Tetsusaiga, what does he want?_ Knowing that just _thinking_ wont get her questions answered, she decided to ask. With no reply. Sesshomaru nodded towards Jaken, signaling for him to explain their case.

"When Lord Sesshomaru was away, Rin was kidnapped! Even though shes just a weak hu-" Was all he got to explain before Sesshomaru pushed him into the water again with a gentle nudge from his foot.

Meanwhile, Kagome finally convinced herself that Sesshomaru wasnt a peeping-tom like Miroku, thought about what Jaken had said. _If Rin was kidnapped, that must mean that they are looking for her!_ Thinking that it was "cute" and "thoughtful" of Sesshomaru to go find Rin, Kagome decided that they would help him find her. She stood up to tell him that they would help find Rin, but she didnt remember about her current clothing issue.

"We'll help you fin Rin!" She exclaimed, with pep in her voice. Sango couldnt see what was more disturbing, Kagomes proposal, or Sesshomarus reaction to it. Sesshomaru's face was as red as Miroku's after Sango had slapped it. It was then Kagome realised that he wasnt reacting to what she _said_, but to the fact that she was standing naked in front of him. There was an awkward silence before Kagome screamed and ducked under the water, and Sesshomaru turned his back to the spring. This time, however, when Kagome screamed thanks to Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku heard it.

"Whats wrong!?" They gasped, hurtling through the bushes and shrubbery separating their newly-formed camp and the spring, at the opposite end of where Sesshomaru stood. This was an awkward sight indeed. Sesshomaru and a drowning Jaken at one end of the spring, Inuyasha and Miroku who are standing clueless at the other end, and a naked Sango and Kagome in the middle! Realising his brother was now at the scene, Sesshomaru quickly regained his expressionless appearance.

Jaken, who had finally managed to get to the edge of the rocks that outlined the spring, climbed onto land and started coughing and gasping for breath. When he finally got hold of his breath, and was able to stand, he looked around at the scene, and stepped in front of Sesshomaru, ready to defend his lord in case Inuyasha attacked.

Inuyasha was assuming that Sesshomaru was being a pervert and had spied on Kagome and Sango. He grabbed the Tetsusaiga, ready to attack if Sesshomaru moved from the spot. Miroku, on the other hand, was marveling at the girls, like always. A low growl was forming in the back of Inuyashas throat as he took a step for the spring that kept him at least ten feet away from his older brother, but Miroku put an arm out in front of him to stop him. Confused, Inuyasha blinked at Miroku, hoping for a reason for his relictance to fight. The monk nodded towards Sesshomaru and Jaken, and how they were simply standing there, excusing Jakens battle stance, they didnt look like they wanted to fight at all. Lowering his arm from the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Sesshomaru, it just didnt seem right, something had to be up in order for Sesshomaru to not attack.

"What do you want, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha did his best to not sound stupid, as it seemed to him that he was the only one who didnt know what was going on. "And what are you doing here? Gonna try your luck at taking my Tetsusaiga again?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out, wading towards Inuyasha and Miroku, "He doesnt want to fight, just listen!" Once again, Kagome forgot her nakedness, and walked straight up to Inuyasha. Miroku coughed into his hand and pointed at Kagome, motioning for her to see her current self. For the third time that day, Kagome made an idiot out of herself. Sighing, with a face as red as his outfit, Inuyasha took off his fire-rat coat and handed it to Kagome, who wrapped it around herself to make a dress. Sango managed to sneak away, however, while Kagome was getting dressed, to fetch her own clothes.

By the time she returned, Kagome had convinced Inuyasha to listen to Sesshomarus story. He reluctantly agreed, so Jaken was explaining the days events, yet again, up to the part where Kagome proposed to help them find Rin.

"Why should we help _HIM_, Kagome?! How do you know its not a trick?" Inuyasha protested for every reason he could think of, but his mental capacity limited his excuses for not helping.

"How do you know hes NOT?" She snapped back.

"Because hes SESSHOMARU, or didnt you see!?"

"I know that! But imagine if you had to deal with losing Shippo, or me like that!"

"I.. I.. Well.. -We still dont know if hes lying!" Kagome had caught Inuyasha at a loss of words, which was a rather simple thing to do, but a useful tactic, nonetheless.

"Thats a risk that I am willing to take." After Kagome said that, Miroku stepped into the conversation as well,

"I'd have to agree with Kagome, Inuyasha. We have nothing to do, so we might as well help him."

"But what about the Jewel Shards!"

"After your battle with Kouga, I didnt sense any nearby jewel shards, what about you Kagome? Your jewel sense is much stronger than my own."

"Nope, I didnt sense any. So I think we should help him!" And that ended it. Inuyasha gave a final "Keh" and went off to the highest tree he could find to think out what he was going to do. It was then, when Sango returned, so Miroku and Kagome had to explained their agreement for helping Sesshomaru. But Sango had a good question, that they never considered. She asked if Sesshomaru even _wanted_ their help. Being the demon lord he is, he probably wouldnt accept help from a half-demon or a bunch of humans. They never even considered that. It was a very good question, another one was, where _WAS_ Sesshomaru at this point? He had walked away while Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha discussed, so he was probably off thinking, just like Inuyasha was. The group spread out to find him, all in opposite directions, everyone that is, except Inuyasha.

It was Miroku, who found him. He was sitting under a tree on top of a nearby hill and was gathering his thoughts on the entire story overall. Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshomarus thoughts were serious and well written, looking at an item from every angle, inspecting every aspect of it until it was second nature.

_Who would have thought I would run into Inuyasha, or any of his human comrades. I suppose I was too worried for Rin and let my guard slip, and just didnt catch their scent before I got near them. Very well, I can just accept their help for now, then take the Tetsusaiga once Rin is safe. After all, its not like -_ His thoughts were interrupted when Miroku sat next to him. At the bottom of the hill where they sat, Shippo was chasing Kirara around in circles around a small fruit tree.

Miroku sighed, thinking he would have to convince Sesshomaru to accept their help.

"So, will you let us help you?" He cautiously asked. Sesshomaru was concentrating with an aggravated look on his face. It was good that he would accept, but getting help from a hanyou and a pack of weakling humans was really low for someone of such power to do. He decided he would do it, after a moment.

"I suppose I should accept. But dont think I owe you any favors, human."

"Oh dont worry, we wont ask for anything like that. Inuyasha wont be too happy though. Lets head back to the camp, we shouldnt keep everyone waiting." And at that, they started off for the makeshift campsite.

**SQUEE. That was fun to type. Im getting better, no?**

**Next chapter: They search for details on the kidnapper, and the village boy that was with Rin.**


	4. A Long Venture

**A/N:** I.. forgot to spell check last chapter, gomengomengomen... THANK YOUS FOR THE REVIEWS. I 3 them all. It means a lot that people actually read my stuff. Remember, italics is thinking, unless its a single word or somethin.

Inuyasha _really_ didnt like having to be allies with his brother. There was some definite animosity put into that opinion. Kagomes modern-era analogy was "You two are like World War III, ya know that?!". It wasnt just Inuyasha who had to suffer with Sesshomaru though, everyone had to deal with it. His aristocratic ways and his silence made everyone both agitated and a little disturbed. Shippo couldnt take it anymore, he had to get some answers out of him. While the crew was venturing toward the nearest town, Shippo jumped onto the demon lords shoulder and started questioning him.

"Why wont you ever talk to us? Whenever we ask you something you give us a one word answer! Is it because of Rin? Inuyasha? Whats your problem?" Everyone stopped walking and stared at Shippo and Sesshomaru when they heard the little demons outburst. Sighing, Miroku walked up to Sesshomaru and peeled Shippo off of his shoulder, dropping him on the ground near Kagome.

"Leave me ALONE, Miroku! Dont act like you dont have any problems with HIM like everyone else does!"

Sesshomaru wasnt going to take any of this, he had better things to do than to work out petty differences between himself and a kitsune. Stepping ahead, in front of Shippo, Sesshomaru kneeled down, staring him bitterly in the eye. Now trembling in fear, Shippo took a tiny step back from the demon lord, not wanting to get hit, or get attacked by one of his acid claws. Getting some satisfaction from the fear he put into Shippo, Sesshoumaru gave a sly grin at the demon child. Shippo ran up Kagomes leg and hugged her arm tightly, using her as something of a "human shield" from the stronger demon. _Oh geez, why do I always have to pick fights with the strong demons! How come I cant just keep my mouth SHUT?!_

Inuyasha was ahead of the rest of the group, making sure there were no demons nearby that they would have to fight, was just returning to see Sesshomaru getting up. Dusting himself off, Sesshomaru gave a sly grin towards Shippo, who was just now calming down.

"Whats goin on here?" Inuyasha asked, looking from one member of the group to the next.

"Oh nothing.. So, how close is the nearest town, Inuyasha?" Sango replied, elbowing Miroku from answering the question.

"Its not far, we should be there in less than an hour if we dont stop to rest, lets go."

**..........Scene Change..........**

Deep into a castle that was surrounded by a barren wasteland, Naraku was discussing his plans with a new incarnation, one that he called Kuro. Kuro was unlike any of Narakus other incarnations, he was made to gather inside information on Inuyasha and his friends.

"How could you mess up such a simple task, Kuro?" Naraku questioned.

"I'm sorry, Naraku! What should I do now?"

An evil smirk formed under Narakus baboon-pelt coating, he had a plan, "Dont worry.. we can make this work. Where is she, anyway? You didnt kill her already, did you?"

"Of course not, I put her just outside, should I get her? She might have some information on Inuyasha or his brother, that is where I found her."

"That wont be needed, Kuro. Sesshomaru will come to us, and probably Inuyasha as well. Everything will be coming together in time..."

**.......Later that day........**

Meanwhile, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Shippo were asking around if anyone had seen Rin. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were off arguing over the most trivial of things.

_FWAP! _Miroku had once again been slapped by Sango, for asking the age-old question to a field-worker who had caught his eye.

"What was that for?" Miroku asked, rubbing his cheek.

"You should know what its for, by now." Sango coldly replied, as she walked to another person to ask about Rin. With no luck, the duo asked a few more people before they gave up and went to find Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. When they saw them, they were fighting about the Tetsusaiga again, a few villagers stopped working to stare at the two boys, throwing insults back and forth. Inuyasha finally gave up on trying to out-wit Sesshomaru, and challenged him to a fight. Hearing that, Sango and Miroku ran up to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru to cease the battle that was quickly forming.

"We arent here to fight! Now stop your bickering and be quiet! _People are starting to watch you two!_" Sango said, standing between the brothers, separating them.

"Theyre not watching me, theyre staring in awe at such a horrid creature Inuyasha is," Sesshomaru replied, walking through a crowd of people to interrogate villagers on his own, "I'll be back later." Growling at Sesshomarus remark, Inuyasha kicked a rock hard into a small storage building, causing it to collapse with an old man running out of it screaming about how reckless spirits were attacking him and how the world was coming to an end.

Shippo handed the drawing to Kagome so she could show a person the picture of Rin. Kagome and Shippo were a little unfortunate with finding clues as to where Rin was taken. The picture that Shippo drew helped though, at least now people knew what they were looking for. After a while, the village people thought that they were searching for a criminal with a bounty, and offered to lend them some weapons, for a share of the reward. It took Kagome a long time to explain to them that they were searching for a lost person, and not a reward on Rin's head. Thats when the crew got their first clue.

Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome were all discussing their situation in a well-furnished home, which conveniently had a "demon spirit" that was "haunting" it for Miroku to exercise. Sesshomaru meanwhile, was off outside thinking about what he would do when he found Rin.

Kill the kidnapper, of course, but then what? Would he just continue what they had been doing, traveling the lands aimlessly until he gained the desire to attack Inuyasha, or until Kagura came back asking for assistance to escape Naraku's grasp? It was all a big puzzle to him, just he was missing the last piece. Why exactly did they take Rin? Was it possible that the kidnapper was _trying_ to attract Sesshomaru to him in order to attack him? But who could it be? Naturally, he was hated by numerous amounts of humans and demons alike, but why would they try to attack _now, _what did he have that they wanted? And then it hit him. While traveling the grounds, Rin had collected lots of random items. Flowers, some jewelry, rocks that she thought were pretty, lots of random items that she kept in a large box back at Sesshomaru's castle. One of the rocks she picked up could have been a shard of the Shikon Jewel! It fit together perfectly now, except for the most important question, _Who did it?_

While Inuyasha and the rest of the crew were talking about who could possibly want to take Rin, the door slid open as an elderly woman stepped inside. She was short, about Kaedes height, had long grayish hair and a kind expression that showed her heart of gold.

"I hear you are looking for a little girl, am I right?" She said, walking towards the group.

"Whats it to you, old bat?" Inuyasha snapped back, not trusting the old lady.

"What did she look like? I might have seen her, you know." Kagome fished around Shippo's drawings, looking for the one of Rin, while he slept nearby with Kirara. She handed it to the old woman, who inspected the picture thoroughly.

"Ah yes, I remember her. She came through the town not too long ago with another child, a young boy, if I'm not mistaken."

Sesshomaru, who was walking back to the building, stopped outside and decided to listen in on the conversation. He watched through a window, not worrying if they saw him, since the sun had already set. When he heard that the woman had information, he casually came inside, looked around the room, then sat down with everyone else. Kagome filled him in on everything that the woman said, which of course was old new to him, but he had to pull an act so they wouldn't suspect him of spying. After everything was settled, Miroku and Sango told the woman the entire story of what happened with Rin and Sesshomaru. She seemed very interested, ready to help them if they needed to at any time.

"Whats your name, anyway?" Inuyasha finally asked. It had been the first time he had participated in the discussion all night. He was too busy trying to figure out what was happening, with the newly found out clues.

"Oh! I didn't introduce myself? Silly me, heh. I am Kaoru. Just a simple healer, but I see almost everyone who passes through the village."

"So which direction did they leave in? Thats where we will be headed tomorrow." Sesshomaru said in a monotone voice. He didn't seem as worried, now that he knew that Rin had been seen. They talked about what they were going to do the next day for about an hour, before Kaoru decided to head home.

After everyone was settled and about to go to sleep, Sesshomaru decided to explain to them why he thought the kidnapper took Rin. As soon as he said it, everyone gave him their full attention.

"Why didn't you tell us _before?" _Kagome asked, not wanting to tread on dangerous grounds.

"I just realized it myself, to be completely honest. I never put too much thought into it." He replied, trying to seem fascinated with his fingernails to keep from anyone noticing his slight blush. Miroku sighed and scratched the back of his head, in thought, "Well, theres nothing we can do about it now. We should get to sleep so we have energy to face whatever we might see tomorrow." And with that final statement, he yawned and rolled over, going back to sleep. Shippo and Sango followed suit, then Kagome. The two brothers sat quietly in the room, at opposite sides. Inuyasha had the Tetsusaiga resting on his shoulder, while he used it as a makeshift pillow. Sesshomaru sat without his armor and fluffy thing, in a leisurely manner. They shot glances at each other, in the awkward silence. Eventually, Inuyasha drifted to sleep, leaving Sesshomaru to gather his thoughts on the days events until he too fell asleep.

**A/N: **Semi-long chapter... I dont like it, to be entirely honest. It seems too.... rushed.. I'll get started on the next chapter... which will have some more key aspects to the whereabouts of Rin.

Thank yous all for the kind comments! They helped a lot, really.


	5. Naraku's Plan

**A/N:** Thank everyone for the wonderous reviews and comments! IRL I have a few friends who read it, so thanks to them too. GOMEN FOR THE LONG WAIT. I didnt mean for it to take so long to type, lol. School gets in the way, a lot. I hate to say it, but I have to do a social studies project, reading, and i need to start my comm skills project before I finish. The Reading thing will take about 30 minutes, heh... but the rest might take a while. **I'll start on the next chapter ASAP!**

**Recap of last chapter, if youre too lazy to re-read it or forgot: **They found out that Rin had a jewel shard, so the kidnapper wanted that. Deciding that they will head off the next day, they rest.

Inuyasha woke with a yawn, stretched, then looked around. Everyone else was already awake and was outside somewhere. Everyone that is, except for his ever-so lovable older half-brother.

"Thanks to you, Mutt, we had to sit around for an extra hour. Your wench and friends had already left. They asked me to stay here and wait for you." He coldly stated, glaring daggers at Inuyasha, who was now fully awake.

"So why'd you listen to 'em, _Sesshomaru_. You're stronger than them, you dont need to take orders." Inuyasha replied with a sneer. He didnt get a reply, but instead got a bump on the head from a swift whack from Sesshomaru. No longer waiting for his dimwitted sibling, Sesshomaru had started off, calling back to Inuyasha with an insult on how slow he was. Now Inuyasha was mad at Sesshomaru, and was going to prove he wasnt slow by beating him to the rest of the crew. By the time Inuyasha had gotten outside, Sesshomaru had already walked to the edge of the small village. Dashing to pass him, Inuyasha broke into a fast sprint, which would be equivalent to a car in the modern era. Sighing, Sesshomaru didnt even bother to start after his younger brother, but instead _let_ him continue his "race".

When Inuyasha got to the rest of the gang, they were taking a break in the clearing of a forest. Panting, he sat down between Miroku and Sango, separating Mirokus hand from Sango. Kagome was meanwhile cooking the ever loved modern-day food, ramen, and Shippou was making sandwiches with some deli meats Kagome brought back from home.

"What took so long, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, a little disappointed on Inuyashas interrupting his moment with Sango's backside, "We left over an hour ago... and wheres Sesshomaru?"

Inuyasha replied with a "keh" and smirked at Miroku, "That moron couldnt beat me here. I went ahead, hes probably going to get here in a few hours at least." Sango frowned, and looked over at Inuyasha.

"You know we're trying to _help _him, right? Be nicer to him, he's probably worried sick over Rin." She pondered a minute, thinking about if Sesshomaru could even _feel_ worry.

"Like I said before, he doesnt DESERVE our help. He tried to kill me! In case ya didnt remember! 'Member when he took out my eye just for a failed-attempt at taking my Tetsusaiga!?" Their little argument continued until Kagome finished cooking the ramen, which kept Inuyasha quiet for a good 20 minutes. By the time that everyone had finished their meal and searched the nearby area, it was getting into the late afternoon. Still no sign of Sesshomaru.

Kagome, who was looking for herbs that might come in handy in a garden of plants under a large tree, wasnt paying much attention to her surroundings. Anyone could have walked up and attacker her, unless they had a jewel shard of course. So when Sesshomaru appeared behind her, she didnt notice until she turned around. Sesshomaru was leaning on a tree, inspecting his right hand while letting some acid drip from his claws onto the shrubs below, just out of boredom. When he looked up from the quickly burning plants, he saw that Kagome was staring at him. There was a moment of silence between the two, Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but Sesshomaru just started off to find the rest of the Inu-crew.

**.....About an hour Later.....**

Everyone was arguing about whether to stop for the night, or to continue on until it was actually _dark_ out. Amazingly, Inuyasha sided with Sesshomaru and said that they could continue. They had the same reason, too. "_So I dont have to work with HIM that much sooner_" Of course, Sesshomaru had another reason, that he wanted to get to Rin sooner, but he wasnt going to admit to it. Eventually Inuyasha and Sesshomaru won the argument, since they would have left anyway, with or without everyone else. So they were off, Inuyasha carrying Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, and Sango on Kirara, and Sesshomaru went along by himself, a small bit aways ahead of everyone else. Slowly but surely, Sesshomaru got further ahead on foot than Kirara did flying and Inuyasha did running. Apperantly, he had seen something, or caught a familiar scent. Inuyasha slowed down, to let Kirara and everyone else catch up.

"Do you smell anything, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, hopping down from Kirara. Sniffing the air for any familiar scents, Inuyasha shook his head at Miroku, "No, but theres something about it.. It smells kind of like Sesshomaru, but kind of like something else. I cant tell, Sesshomaru's scent is cancelling out the other one." He replied, looking around for a clue.

"What about you Kagome? Any nearby jewel shards?" Kirara was going to transform into her smaller state, but Sango rested a hand on her, signaling that they were only stopping for a moment. Kagome looked around, concentrating.

"Nope, nothin. I think we should try to catch up with Sessh-" She replied, getting cut off by Inuyasha.

"Kagura." He said simply. With a slight growl in his voice. Hearing that, Sango and Miroku climbed onto Kirara with Shippo jumping on after them. Inuyasha picked up Kagome and instantly they were off towards the direction Sesshomaru left in.

Kagura was standing before Sesshomaru, probably going to ask for his help again. When Inuyasha and Kirara finally got there, Sesshomaru and Kagura were conversing.

"What brings you here? You normally stay in the western lands." She said, flashing a sly grin at him.

"Looking for Rin. She has been taken, probably because of a jewel shard she might possess. Do you know of her whereabouts?" Showing no emotion towards Kaguras sarcasm, Sesshomaru gave her an icy stare. Inuyasha dropped Kagome off and walked up to the two, giving them suspicious looks. Kagura smiled, almost teasingly at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. She knew something, but wasnt going to tell unless she got something in return.

"What do you know, Kagura?" Inuyasha barked at her, while she stayed poised and alert, "Nothing, unless you ask nicely." Was her snappy reply. Sighing with frustration, Inuyasha calmly asked her what she knew and if it would help them. As it turned out, Naraku was behind the entire plot.

Naraku has a new incarnation, she started to explain to everyone, His name is Kuro. He was originally created to join your crew, Inuyasha, to gather inside information and find out more weaknesses. But he messed it up and instead went to Sesshomaru. Seeing that Rin had a shard of the Shikon Jewel, he decided to take her instead. Naturally, Naraku was mad at first. He tried to kill Kuro, but decided that he could use this to his advantage. Naraku is using Rin as a lure to bring Sesshomaru to him, he is going to try to gain control over Sesshomaru just as he did to Kohaku. You, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and even the little kitsune are just extras. You will have to find a way around his defenses, and get straight to Kuro.

Sesshomaru stared at Kagura, deep in thought, "So, I suppose you know a way around these defenses of his? You wouldnt be telling us this unless you knew a bit more." Kagura just ignored him and continued,

But Kuro has some special abilities. He cant disguise himself as other people like Naraku can, but he can control people with mind control. Weak-minded people like Kagome and Shippo might get affected, but I doubt Sesshomaru will, or the monk, exterminator or Inuyasha. Kirara is questionable though, I doubt she would be a target though. With Kuro's special ability of mind control, he can also adopt attacks if he sees them used. So under NO circumstances should you use your Wind Scar, Inuyasha, or any of your stronger attacks. Same thing with your poison claws, Sesshomaru. You and Inuyasha are fast enough to dodge those, but your friends arent. Miroku and Sango dont have to worry about their attacks getting taken, the monks scrolls arent exactly attacks, so they cant get taken, nor can the Hiraikotsu, or Kagome's arrows. So it will all be physical attacks, other than Shippos foxfire, which isnt strong enough for Kuro to care about taking it. Naraku wont be there, with Kuro. He has more important things to do, so that should make it considerably easier. As you can probably assume, Kuro has almost no weaknesses. The only weakness he does have, is that he cant fight when controlling someones mind. So if he manages to get Miroku under mind control, for example, he wont be able to fight himself. He would have to use Miroku to fight.

The group had a moment of silence, they were all gathering their thoughts on what to do.

"We can let him take control over Shippo then attack him." Inuyasha said, pointing out the obvious. Sango sighed, then replied, "I doubt he would use Shippo, unless we made him think that Shippo was a lot stronger than he is." That put them all into thought on what to do.

_Hmm..._ Miroku thought, thinking of a plan. _What if we somehow "stumble" upon Kuro, when Inuyasha and Shippo are fighting. Inuyasha can pretend to be losing against Shippo, making Kuro think that he is stronger than he actually is. That would work fine! Meanwhile, after Kuro has taken Shippo under his mind control, Kagome, Sango and myself can attack Kuro. Sesshomaru wouldnt be of much help without his light whip or poison claws, so unless he can use it when- THATS IT!_

"Kagura, can Kuro adopt attack skills when he already has someone under mind control?" He said, almost positive of his new plan.

"Not that I know of... I doubt it. If he could, he doesnt know how at least." She replied, catching on to Miroku's idea. They had a plan, they knew how to defeat Kuro.

**A/N: **This chapter took FOREVER to write. I had little to no inspiration, and I was kinda depressed about Kaguras death in the latest chapter. She didnt deserve to die.. But at least she got a taste of the freedom she longed so much for.

-If the chapter seems short, gomen. I was too lazy to make it longer, just decided to submit it like this.

**Next Chapter:** They meet Kuro. ...etc.etc.etc....


	6. Meeting Kuro

**EEP. **So sorry for the LONG wait. heh, school has taken up lots of time. This chapter might seem off a little, since I wrote it like, one paragraph a day... THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS PEOPLE! They mean a lot to me. I love signing in to see that I got a new review. Okay, on with the chapter (sorry its so messed up, really I am..)

* * *

Now that Kagura was working with Inuyasha, at least for a while until they had to _fight_, everyone felt a little more reassured. She couldnt fight with them, because if Naraku found out about it he would punish her, but she did have some useful information on Kuro and his whereabouts. It just happened that the newly born demon was waiting for them on a mountain not too far away. So Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kagura were headed off to find him.

"How do you know so much about Kuro?" Kagome asked, riding on Kirara while Kagura flew on her feather. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were below, arguing like always.

"Well, I was there when he was born, but I didnt know what he was _for_, exactly. I found out later when he dropped Rin off with me then got yelled at by Naraku. You know, Kuro was made off of another human, kind of like Naraku was. Of the hundreds of demons that devoured Onigumo, one of them had eaten a small child that had run away from home. The child apparently had emotional problems and that served as a problem for Naraku, so he did just as he did with Onigumo. He made an incarnation to get rid of it. I'm almost positive that Naraku is using a shard to control Kuro, otherwise I dont see why he isnt a regular child, or, demon I mean.." She replied, looking rather serious for such a simple question. Kagome stared at her for a moment, in thought. _If we can get the jewel shard from Kuro, he will probably become a good demon. It would be really hard though... _

Kirara slowed down a bit, then nudged Sango to look ahead. Looking up from Miroku, whos hands had wandered a tad too much, Sango saw what had caused Kirara to stop her pace. About a hundred yards ahead Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had stopped their bickering to see a large temple. It had a red roof and was made mostly out of wood, like a log cabin almost, with some feudal Japan touches. Inuyasha took a step towards it, to get zapped by a barrier, probably blocking demons from entering. Sesshomaru smirked at his younger siblings stupidity, and kicked a rock through the forcefield.

Walking up to the forcefield, Miroku touched where he thought it would start. At first nothing happened, but when he pushed his hand through, it sent an electric shock through him. He jumped back, snatching a scroll out of his sleeve, ready to place it on the barrier. Sango came up behind him and looked at the barrier as well. It was created by strong scrolls much like Miroku's, just set up by a dark priestess of some sort.

"I can probably remove the forcefield, but it would take me a while. In the meantime, why dont you all look for an entrance of some kind? Sango and myself can stay here.." Miroku said sliding a hand down Sangos back, getting slapped. Kagome walked between the two, keeping them from fighting, and offered a better solution, "Miroku, why dont I stay here with you? I could probably help you a bit more than Sango could." Sighing with disappointment, Miroku agreed and the rest of the crew went off to search for another opening.

In order to remove the barrier around the temple, Miroku and Kagome would have to remove the evil energy from the scrolls that it is composed of, just like how Kagome purifies the Shikon shards. Miroku sat down, writing some counter scrolls to place on top of the current ones, which should, in a manner, cancel out the shield and render it harmless. The hard part about this was getting to the scrolls. They were placed on a wooden pole that came out of the ground about five feet up, the only problem was that the scrolls were placed _inside_ the barrier. It would be rather painful to endure the electric shocks for the time that it would take them to place the counter scroll on top, so first they had to find a way to evade it. Just as he finished writing the last counter scroll, Miroku thought up an idea. _What if we were to use Kagomes arrow to fire at the pole, then while that certail scroll was weakened, place the counter on top of it!_ They would only have about five seconds to fasten the counter scroll on top, but it was worth a shot.

After sharing his ideas with Kagome, she agreed and fired her first arrow. Her miko powers werent as strong as they normally would be, since they werent fighting an opponent, but it was strong enough to make the powerful barrier weak enough for Miroku to place the counter on it. The pole cackled some, rejecting Mirokus spell, but eventually the barrier weakened there.

"Brilliant!" Miroku exclaimed, loving the results of his idea, "Now all we would need is about 6 more before it would be weak enough to pass through. Lets add another 2 to that to be safe, then we can get the others." Nodding in agreement, Kagome fastened the next arrow while Miroku got ready to place the next scroll. They repeated the process 7 more times, then went off in opposite directions to find the everyone else.

Kagome went towards the left of the large barrier, going to find Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and Shippo. When she found them, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were arguing while Shippo watched nearby. They were fighting over who was stronger this time and were going to test on Shippo, but the kitsune ran off before they had a chance. He now watched from safely in a tree. Seeing Kagome nearby, Shippo ran to her and climbed onto her shoulder. It took a while before the fighting duo realised Kagome's presence. Kagome had to explain what she and Miroku did to weaken the scrolls and how they had to hurry back. Agreeing without a second thought, they started back towards the front of the temple.

**..meanwhile..**

"So, what about that monk?" Kagura asked showing a sly grin at Sango, who had blushed at the mention of Miroku.

"Miroku, you mean?"

"Whatever.. You seem to like him, eh?" Sangos face turned red at that, but regained her poise expression with a comeback, "What about Sesshomaru? Do you _stalk_ him or something?" At that, it was Kaguras turn to blush. She thought about it for a minute, she couldnt exactly say _why_ she liked to be around Sesshomaru, it was weird for Kagura to show much emotion for anyone other than Naraku (and that was hate) but she did have some feelings for Sesshomaru, just as Sango would for Miroku or Kagome would for Inuyasha.

"Well, I-I.. er... heh.." Was the only reply Sango got before Kagura's face turned as red as her eyes. Getting mild satisfaction from making the wind demon show such an expression, Sango flashed a smirk at Kagura before she saw something in the bushes. She gently elbowed Kagura in the side, to get her to look and see what was there. All she had to do really was use her fan and blow whoever was there out of hiding, and thats exactly what she did. Miroku was hiding behind the bushes as it turned out, eavesdropping on the girls, hoping to hear something interesting.

Twitching with anger, Sango went over to Miroku and slapped him. Before she got a chance to yell at him, though, he spewed out his excuse, "Kagome and I have weakened the barrier, we should go now just in case my counter spells wear off!" and at that, he ran back to the front of the temple, shortly followed by Kagura and Sango.

Getting through the barrier would be easy now, except then what would they do? Go find Kuro of course, but from the looks of the large temple he could be anywhere. Sesshomaru didnt want to waste any time, he headed into the barrier and towards the temple entrance.

"Wait up!" Inuyasha called after him, not wanting to be left out of a battle, if there would be one. As the two brothers stepped inside they saw that it was more like an enormous house than a temple. It was like some of the houses that Miroku found "demon spirits" in, but a bit more high class. They were in the main hall, there were golden statues of lions at each corner and beautiful paintings of oceanfronts and landscapes on the walls. Truly a house for a king, or a demon who stole it. Inuyasha sniffed the air, searching for a trace of Naraku.

"Yep, he's here. I can smell Naraku all over the place," He said, with a low growl forming in his throat, "Now we just have to find him. Come on Miroku! What are you waitin' for?" Inuyasha motioned for Miroku, Sango, Kagura, and Kagome to come in. They walked in warily, not sure about the strange place. Kagura stepped forward, and started towards a door near the back, "He's near the back room." She said, peeking through the door. Sesshomaru gave her a questioning glance and she replied, "Rin is probably with him." No one was in the room that she had looked in to, so she stepped inside. It was much like the first, but the walls were all painted a deep blue.

Leaning onto the wall, Miroku heard a rustle coming from another room. He pressed his head against the wall to hear better, and there was definitely someone in the next room.

"Hear this!" He whispered, bringing Kagome to the wall to hear too, "Theres someone, or something, in there." Kagome listened in as well. It sounded like two people, really. One was talking to the other, but there wasnt a reply. Kagura walked over to where the sound was coming from, and listened in as well. It was Rin who was talking, probably to Kuro. _Hah. I almost feel sorry for Kuro. When he left that kid with me she never shut up. Its torture dealing with her... _She cupped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at Kuro. Inuyasha looked at the three, confused for a moment. When he understood what was going on, he also started eavesdropping on the two in the neighboring room. His canine ears could make out the voices much easier than everyone else, excusing Sesshomaru, so he was able to make out some of what they were saying. It seemed that Rin was harassing Kuro about being bored and missing Sesshomaru.

"Well brother, you dont have to worry, your girlfriend misses you." He laughed at his older sibling, who was standing nearby. Showing no emotion towards Inuyashas remark, Sesshomaru gracefully stepped towards the door seporating the two rooms. Kagura gave a worried look at him, hinting him to not open the door. It was a mystery whether he ignored her or just didnt notice, since he slid open the door to get a look at Rins captor. That was their first real look at Kuro. He was about a foot taller than Rin, standing at around 5 feet tall. His hair was black, short and trimmed like Kohaku's, he had eyes just like Kagura's, just you could tell they were a childs eyes. He was wearing the same thing he did the day he kidnapped Rin, a plain childs outfit composed of dark blue pants and a matching shirt. Except now, he was wearing some armor just like the demon slayer's outfit, and had a katana at his side.

Sesshomaru glared daggers at him, and he just smiled. Kuro pushed Rin behind him, since she was trying to get back to Sesshomaru.

"So this is the infamous Kuro," The demon Lord smirked towards the incarnation, "I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. You look weaker than Inuyasha."

"Youre not that great yourself, _Lord of the Western Lands._" Kuro replied mockingly grabbing his sword, ready to fight.

* * *

Ill start with the next chapter ASAP! Remember, if you have a suggestion for an upcoming chapter, feel free to send it in a review. D


	7. Wounded in Battle

recap:

"Well brother, you dont have to worry, your girlfriend misses you." He laughed at his older sibling, who was standing nearby. Showing no emotion towards Inuyashas remark, Sesshomaru gracefully stepped towards the door seporating the two rooms. Kagura gave a worried look at him, hinting him to not open the door. It was a mystery whether he ignored her or just didnt notice, since he slid open the door to get a look at Rins captor. That was their first real look at Kuro. He was about a foot taller than Rin, standing at around 5 feet tall. His hair was black, short and trimmed like Kohaku's, he had eyes just like Kagura's, just you could tell they were a childs eyes. He was wearing the same thing he did the day he kidnapped Rin, a plain childs outfit composed of dark blue pants and a matching shirt. Except now, he was wearing some armor just like the demon slayer's outfit, and had a katana at his side.

Sesshomaru glared daggers at him, and he just smiled. Kuro pushed Rin behind him, since she was trying to get back to Sesshomaru.

"So this is the infamous Kuro," The demon Lord smirked towards the incarnation, "I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. You look weaker than Inuyasha."

"Youre not that great yourself, _Lord of the Western Lands._" Kuro replied mockingly grabbing his sword, ready to fight.

* * *

The battle was soon to start. Sesshomaru, the Lord of the Western Lands verses Kuro, an incarnation of Naraku. It was safe to say that Sesshomaru underestimated his new opponent by the way he stood leisurely, not even taking his adversary seriously. True, he had probably fought demons much stronger and larger than the incarnation, but thinking that Kuro's age made him weaker was a mistake that Sesshomaru would soon regret.

Kuro rushed towards Sesshomaru with his sword ready to slice his side. Easily evading the attack, Sesshomaru stepped to the side, letting Kuro nearly trip into Sango, who was standing in the corner of the room with Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara. Kagura had left just a few minutes prior, not wanting to be caught at a fight scene. After regaining his balance, the demon child pulled a dagger from a hidden pocket and threw it at Sesshomaru, swiping across his only arm, wounding it slightly.

"Heh, no matter. In a short while this wound will be healed and I can kill you with my poisons." Sesshomaru said smugly, stepping back near a wall as Kuro did the same on the opposite side of the room. His only reply was a laugh from Kuro before he pulled out his katana and rushed at Sesshomaru again. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Sesshomaru stroked the flat of the blade with one of his acid claws causing it to melt, rendering the sword useless. Kuro threw the remains of the katana towards Inu-tachi, who were watching eagerly.

Inuyasha stepped forward, yearning to fight in the battle unfolding in front of them, but Miroku held him back, "Inuyasha, we don't need to take the risk of Kuro taking one of you or Sesshomaru's attacks. We were lucky enough that he didn't try to take Sesshomaru's toxins." Sitting down angrily, Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

It was an even-matched battle, for the most part. Sesshoumaru couldn't find an opening to attack Kuro, nor did Kuro to Sesshomaru. The fight continued that way until Sesshomaru stumbled an attack. Right as he was about to reach for Kuro's chest with his sharp claws, Kuro pulled out a dagger from inside his armor and flung it at Sesshomaru. Normally it wouldn't do much damage with his protective armor on, but Kuro aimed perfectly, near his heart, where it was weaker thanks to lots of previous attacks.

"So that was your plan, eh? Weaken my armor then attack with a knife. Cowardice way to attack. I must admit, I didn't expect that." Sesshomaru said, panting heavily. Inuyasha stood up, ready to help Sesshomaru. Sango looked ready to help as well, but they knew to stay back until they were certain they were needed.

"Of course. I may be young, but I'm not stupid. That's how I managed to capture Rin, you know. I befriended her, then kidnapped her." Kuro motioned towards Rin, who was in the corner opposite to Inu-tachi, sleeping. Obviously she had been tired, through all that she'd been though, it wouldn't of been suprising if she was unconcious from the shock.

Sesshomaru glared evilly, ready to use all of his energy on one swipe from his light whip. Because of his current weakness, he had forgotten entirely about Kuro's ability to control people, so he readied his attack and ran towards Kuro with the last of his energy. It seemed that Kuro also forgot about his special ability, instead of simply controlling Sesshomaru's mind, Kuro grabbed hid neck as soon as he came close enough. Sparks flew the light whip while it was hurriedly retracted as Sesshomaru grabbed Kuro's hand, trying to pry it loose. The young demon was much stronger than he looked, and as it turned out, he had been holding back his real power. He raised Sesshomaru has high as he could reach while Sesshomaru's body was quickly weakening from blood loss and the tight grip Kuro had on his neck.

"Let me fight, please!" Inuyasha said to the rest of the crew. Kagome nodded in agreement, and everyone else followed suit. Sango grabbed her Hiraikotsu, Kagome went for her arrows, and Inuyasha and Miroku raced towards Kuro.

Quickly grabbing a scroll from his sleeve, Miroku avoided getting hit from Tokijin, which Kuro had taken from Sesshomaru. While Kuro was catching his balance from his missed attack, Miroku managed to stick the scroll onto Kuro's back, causing him to be paralyzed in place for a few seconds before he broke free of the spell. Realizing how strong his opponent was, Inuyasha readied to attack. He couldn't use the Kaze no Kizu without killing Sesshomaru and most of the people in the room, so he would just have to try to cut Kuro. Kagome backed up, seeing Inuyashas plan. Sango and Miroku followed suit while Kirara and Shippo were still in the corner. Inuyasha swung the Tetsusaiga towards Kuro as hard as he could manage, with precise aim. It would have cut him in his shoulder blade, severely wounding him if not killing him, if he had not have turned around and thrown the Tokijin at the Tetsusaiga, causing it to veer slightly off course. Instead of hitting his target, Inuyasha hit his now unconscious sibling in the back. The attack was partially deflected from Sesshomaru's armor, but he was still hit in the back hard. He was lucky that his shoulder armor was still in good shape, otherwise he would have died without a doubt.

Kagome held in a scream and turned away, holding Shippo close to herself. Sesshomaru was now in fatal shape. Not only was he bleeding horribly in his back and probably had broken his ribs and part of his back thanks to his brother, Kuro's strong hold on his neck wasn't getting any more merciful. If they didn't get him away from Kuro and into safety soon, Sesshomaru would probably die of blood loss, not even a demon as powerful as Sesshomaru could survive those attacks.

"...Shit." Inuyasha said, sheathing his Tetsusaiga. Kagome was still looking towards the wall, restraining the straining Shippo from looking at the gory mess behind them.

"How are we going to get Sesshomaru away from Kuro?" Sango asked, looking at Kuro, who was grinning evilly at his victim, waiting for Inuyasha's next attack.

"I really don't know. But if we manage something, one of us is probably going to get injured as well," Miroku replied, trying to comfort Kagome, "Which one of us is fastest? Whoever it is could get Sesshomaru away from Kuro while the rest distract him, a simple plan, but its worth a try." Kagome, Sango, and Miroku all looked towards Inuyasha. He would have to do it.

Inuyasha nodded and started towards the other side of the room, trying to get behind Kuro without his noticing. It wasn't particularly hard, since he was occupied with making small cuts on Sesshomaru's neck for some reason. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were deciding on ways to get Kuro to drop Sesshomaru, or at least loosen his grip enough for Inuyasha to get him away. They decided on Kagome's purifying arrow and Sango's powerful Hiraikotsu, while Miroku did whatever he could. Shippo and Kirara were going to have to sit out. Fox fire was a good technique, but it wouldn't be powerful enough to even draw Kuro's attention, let alone be a good distraction, and Kirara just couldn't help without making harm to the person they were trying to save. Miroku waved to Inuyasha, signaling for him to get ready. He nodded in reply and stood back, ready to jump as soon as there was an opening.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled, throwing her bone boomerang as hard as she could at Kuro. Almost instantly afterwards, Kagome fired a powerful arrow after the Hiraikotsu. Kuro looked at the oncoming attacks, almost frightened at the unexpected ambush. He loosened his grip just enough so he would be able to get out of the way without being harmed, and at that second Inuyasha jumped in, cutting Kuro's wrist with his claws so he would have to let go. His plan worked, amazingly, and Inuyasha managed to get Sesshomaru free of harm, for the most part. What he didn't expect was for Kuro to attack back. Kuro did his best to pierce Inuyasha's back with his hand, but Inuyasha leaped away just in time to prevent anything serious from happening. Kuro did manage to pierce Inuyasha's skin, but not enough to do any serious harm. Unfortunately, he dropped Sesshomaru when he was evading the attack, and he landed right next to Shippo and Kirara, causing the kitsune to let out an ear-shattering scream. He escaped with only a minor wound.


	8. Road to Recovery

When Shippo screamed, it caused Rin, who was in a deep sleep, to jolt awake. She looked around warily, not aware of what was happening. When she saw Sesshomaru laying lifelessly in a puddle of his own blood, the started to panic.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" She called, scrambling to her feet. Kuro & Inu-tachi watched as she ran to her fallen friend. Rin picked up Sesshomaru's head and layed him in her lap, not bothered by his bleeding all over her, since she has been through the same thing when her family was killed.

Kagome put her hands to her mouth, not wanting to say anything, but Kuro broke the shirt silence. He stepped forth, took Rin by her arm, and pulled her to the back of the room. Kicking a place in the wall gently, he opened a hole in the floor, probably made to be used as a trap hole to catch thieves, but it made a good escape route as well. He practically dragged her through the hole, which led to a small tunnel that ended up outside, to where Kagura was waiting, hoping to find Rin coming out with Sesshomaru instead of Kuro.

"Take me to Naraku." Kuro demanded to Kagura. She sighed rudely in reply and pulled out her feather, ready to take them to her master.

* * *

"Well, the rescue went a lot better than I had planned," Miroku sighed, sliding down the wall where he was leaning, trying to be positive. Sesshomaru was in much worse condition then they thought they'd find him.

"Yes, except for when Rin woke up." Kagome was in tears, imagining what Rin was going through at the time.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru coughed violently and spat out some blood. Everyone looked at him, amazed. His demon blood was pushing him to try to fight until he was dead. All he managed to do was prop himself up on his elbow before he collapsed again into unconsiousness. Sango looked at him worriedly, when Shippo finally said, "I think we should hurry to Kaede's village." Inuyasha nodded, Kirara transformed into her larger state, and Miroku and Sango started to lift Sesshomaru onto the cat demon's back.

Miroku, Sango, and Sesshomaru were all riding on Kirara while Kagome and Shippo were below with Inuyasha. They were all going as fast as they possibly could to get to Kaede's village.

When they finally arrived there, about two hours later, it was nearing nightfall and the sun was already beginning to set. Inuyasha pried open Kaede's door with his foot and walked in, interrupting an appointment Kaede was holding with a pregnant village woman.

"Excuse me! I'm trying to get an examination in here!" The woman said angrily. Inuyasha growled then replied, "This is more important than your little 'examination'." as he laid Sesshomaru down between the woman and Kaede. Scared, the woman screamed and backed away,Kaede was very suprised as well. While Miroku shooed the village woman to go home, Kagome and Sango tried to explain to Kaede what happened as quickly as they could, and what they were doing on Sesshomaru's team in the first place.

Kaede shook her head and sighed, "This isnt very good at all. I'll need lots of herbs and help. Kagome, tend to his wounds while I go fetch some herbs from the garden," Kagome nodded, and went to get a wet cloth to clean Sesshomaru's lighter wounds, "Sango, take care of Inuyasha. He's not badly injured, so dont worry about hurting him." Kaede said, walking to the door.

Kagome returned with a damp cloth about a moment later, and started to wipe away all of the caked blood from Sesshomaru's face and neck. She inspected the small gashes that Kuro clawed into the sides of his neck, and saw that they were there to make him lose blood faster. Meanwhile, Sango was doing her best to wrap up Inuyasha's wound decently.

"Kagome, why dont _you_ help me and let Sango take care of him?" Inuyasha whimpered, envying the extra attention his brother was recieving. Miroku sighed comically to point out Inuyasha's stupidity, "Because Sango isnt that great at mending wounds, Inuyasha. Kagome is virtually a professional with all the practice she gets, and Sesshomaru is in much worse shape than you." All he got in reply was an unsatisfied "keh".

Holding a basket of various medicinal herbs and plants, Kaede returned a few minutes later. Seeing her arrival, Kagome hurriedly finished wiping away anything she missed from Sesshomaru's face and neck and backed away to let Kaede work. While Kaede was sorting her plants, Kagome was going to do her best to comfort Shippo, who had befriended Sesshomaru. In the few days they were together, Sesshomaru accepted Inu-tachi as something like 'friends', but in a more formal manner, it was more like a truce until Kuro was dead, but a friendship nonetheless. Shippo was especially fond of this new truce, since Sesshomaru treated him somewhat like he did with Rin, being a friend of Rin's and all.

"You okay, Shippo?" Kagome picked Shippo up playfully, trying to make him happy, with no luck. The little demon was doing his best to not look sad, but it was obvious that he was unhappy, "Kagome, how come whenever we make new friends, they get hurt somehow?" He whimpered, looking at Kagome with sad eyes. Kagome didnt understand, most of their new friends were just fine. Then she thought about what Shippo was probably thinking of, he was probably thinking of his family. She didnt see how Shippo compared Sesshomaru to his family, but respected it. "It'll be fine, Shippo-chan. Trust me." Shippo gave a small smile at her, she put him down and went back over to Kaede to see what she was doing.

Kaede was placing a powder made of herbs in the wounds on Sesshomaru's face and neck.

"Kagome, come over here. I need to show you what to do. My old tired bones need to rest, but if I can teach you how to do this, you can take care of his back and chest wounds." Kaede said, scooting over to give Kagome somewhere to sit.

"Oh.. Okay." She replied, sitting next to Kaede to inspect her actions. What Kaede was doing was rather simple, she had to clean the wound with some antibiotics Kagome brought back from her time, place the herb mixure on it, then wrap it carefully in a bandage. After showing exactly how to clean the wounds and wrap the bandages, Kaede left to go get some sleep, leaving Kagome to tend to Sesshomaru.

Sango was now finished tending to Inuyasha's cut in his back, and was sitting with Miroku and Inuyasha in a different room discussing what they would do next. Meanwhile, Shippo was sitting in a corner drawing pictures of scenery, flowers, people he had met, just anything that came to mind. At this point, everyone except Kagome and Sesshomaru were in the other room going to sleep, so Kagome hurried up to get finished. Eventually, Kagome had finished most of Sesshomaru's wounds, and everyone decided to go to bed and let Kagome finish in the morning.

* * *

The sun was rising over the village when Kagome woke up. She looked outside, there wasnt a cloud in sight, there would be good weather today. No one else was awake yet, so she could get a jumpstart on her task of finishing mending Sesshomaru's wounds.

She went into the other room to see that Sesshomaru had at least regained consciousness. He was sleeping soundly, and would probably stay that way for a few hours unless someone intentionally woke him up. Kagome crawled over to him and poked him, seeing if he stirred at all. No response. Supposing it was safe to properly re-bandage his large gash on his back without his waking, Kagome rolled him over and started to unwravel the bandage. She stopped for a moment and just looked at him, comparing him to how he normally was. Without his armor and weapons, he looked almost like an entirely different person. He was without his shirt, and was almost entirely wrapped in bandages from the waist up. The only places he wasnt wrapped, was on the left of his chest, part of his neck, and his face. Fortunately, he actually hadnt got any head injuries, other than maybe than the fall of Inuyasha dropping him, so he didnt need to be bandaged on his head at all. Kagome admired his features for a moment. He looked like he was related to Inuyasha, without a doubt. They had similar hair and facial features, and acted a lot alike. Kagome just couldnt help staring though. Even injured, Sesshomaru looked stunning. His long silvery blue hair shined in the early morning sunlight, falling elegantly around his face. Kagome wondered if he ever had to deal with acne like she did, when he was a teenager. Stroking his cheek, she decided he probably didnt, there would have had to be some sign of it somewhere if he had. Her eyes wandered down his face and over his injured but still strong body. After a moment, she started to drift into various girlish fantasies about the dog youkai brothers. What brought Kagome out of her thoughts of the fallen Lord was the sound of an agitated cough. Sesshomaru was waking up, probably out of hunger. Kagome looked at him, trying to think of something to say.

"Uh... Good to see youre awake." Kagome finally spat out, blushing furiously. She hurriedly re-wrapped the soaked bandage so that he could get up without reopening his wounds too much. He sat up, looking around groggily, trying to remember what happened. The young miko stared at him while he gathered his thoughts, Sesshomaru yawned and said, "What happened?" in a dazed and confused tone. Kagome sighed, getting ready to explain what had happened to him in a long story, but Sango walked in. There was an awkward silence as Sango stared at the two before she said happily, "Youre awake, Sesshoumaru! I thought you would be out for a few days. Heh, wait til Shippo hears this.." Kagome winced at the thought of what Shippo's joyous reaction would be to Sesshomaru's wake. The little kitsune was a fanboy to Sesshomaru just as much as Souta was to Inuyasha, and to Kagome, it was just plain creepy.

"Heh, lets wait until Shippo wakes up before we tell him." Kagome said, forcing a laugh. Sango understood what she meant and nodded her head in agreement while Sesshomaru still sat there, trying to regain his memory from the previous days events. Again he coughed violently, spitting out some blood on the floor. The two girls blinked at him, giggled, then started to explain to him what had happened.


End file.
